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Price of gas a combustible crisis in northern MN
Gas prices reaching $4.50 in some places have northern Minnesotans hopped up on angry fumes. It reflects a jump of more than a dollar a gallon in just over a week. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, along with Rep. Rick Nolan, are all calling for federal investigations of price fixing. The reason given for…
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Dylan sculpted music, now hometowns etch him in history
This is my Sunday column for the May 19, 2013 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. I’ll be revealing more about Tom Page’s Dylan sculpture project in a week or so. Dylan sculpted music, now hometowns etch him in historyBy Aaron J. Brown The figure crouches over a guitar, playing against a hurricane. A long…
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The Whistling Bird to reopen: Caribbean food on the Iron Range!
UPDATE: The Duluth News Tribune confirms the report, interviewing new owner Jessica Antonovich and chef Patrick Berg. Berg was mentored by the late Whistling Bird co-owner JoPat Curtis during a three year stint as kitchen manager at the original restaurant. The new Whistling Bird will include a wider variety of Caribbean food than before. I…
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North Country Dylan Celebration starts today
For fans of Bob Dylan, the northern Minnesota music scene or those who just wonder about the connection between the world’s most influential living musician and the back woods, mining towns and blue collar city of his youth, well, we’ve got you covered. Today Duluth begins its annual Dylan Fest. A series of events continue…
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Brian Laidlaw plays Zimmy’s tonight, unofficial start of Dylan celebration
Twin Cities-based singer/songwriter Brian Laidlaw will be putting on a pretty cool show tonight at Zimmy’s in downtown Hibbing. You could even consider this an unofficial kickoff of the “North Country Dylan Celebration” in northern Minnesota, starting tomorrow with Duluth Dylan Fest and continuing next week with Dylan Days in Hibbing. From 8-11 p.m., Laidlaw…
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Rogue carp shot on sight
Perhaps you recall that this blog stands ready to defend northern waters from Asian carp. No blog has been more on the cutting edge of exotic carp awareness than this one, a claim we stand ready to defend by way of jumping out of the water and crashing against the bow of your boat, causing…
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Sudden heat, wind fuel dangerous Northland fires
This morning a fire service helicopter buzzed just above the treetops over our home in rural Itasca County. The incredible swing from a cold, snowy spring to today’s hot, dry, windy conditions has brought a sudden and extreme fire danger. We were under a red flag warning with yesterday’s high winds. Large fires prompted evacuations…
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WATCH: Gov. Mark Dayton signs Minnesota marriage equality bill
UPDATE: Gov. Mark Dayton signed marriage equality into Minnesota law this afternoon. He gave these remarks before signing the bill, pictured below: Yesterday, the Minnesota State Senate approved same-sex marriage. At 5 p.m., Gov. Mark Dayton will sign the marriage equality bill into law in a ceremony in St. Paul. Minnesota becomes the 12th state…
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Canada wins space race for first music video in orbit
I know this has already gone viral, but Commander Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency left behind a truly special gift as he returned from the International Space Station this week: the world’s first music video shot in space. Reprising David Bowie’s famous “Space Oddity,” Hadfield more than carries his own (it’s his actual…
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Making the Range more welcoming, because apparently there’s some damn test
These are some damn trees by my house. They’re pretty. Hope that’s good enough for you MinnPost’s Marlys Harris pens an interesting piece on what makes a people attached to place in terms of economic growth. These days, those people most likely to drive the growth of a city, namely young people between the ages…
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WATCH: MN Senate tackles monumental marriage equality vote
After last Friday’s dramatic Minnesota House of Representatives vote in favor of marriage equality, today brings the crucial Senate follow-up. If the measure passes the Senate Gov. Mark Dayton has said he will sign the bill. The Uptake will once again provide live coverage of the debate and the activity around the capitol building. This…
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Iron Range’s ‘Great Gatsby’ now probably regrets that nickname
Phil Falcone, the Chisholm native, jet-setting hedge fund manager and co-owner of the Minnesota Wild hockey team, was dinged for an $18 million fine for misuse of company funds. The Star Tribune detailed the story last week. We’ve mentioned Mr. Falcone here before, at the peak of his financial empire building in 2008. It was…
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Governor, Thissen, Bakk reach agreement on Minnesota budget
This will be a big political week in Minnesota. While the marriage equality debate rolls to an historic conclusion Monday, leaders of the state House and Senate have announced that they and Gov. Mark Dayton have reached the framework of a budget agreement. Specific measures that would affect people living in northern Minnesota’s Iron Range…
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What to get for the mom upon whose survival the colony depends?
Happy Mother’s Day! I’d like to wish my mom, Sandra Johnson, a very happy mother’s day. I figure the best way to say thanks is to chase the bizarre sense of humor we share down the rabbit hole … or in this case, ant colony. This is my Sunday column for the May 12, 2013…
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Bus service returns to the Iron Range
As the folk history of Hibbing goes, the most famous exports of this city on northern Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range have been iron ore, Bob Dylan and the Greyhound Bus Company. Though several bus companies joined together to form Greyhound, the earliest fore-runner was a little taxi service that brought men from the location towns…